Looking for scary movies? Here’s a look at what’s opening in Bellingham this week

In this image released by Open Road Films, Jake Gyllenhaal appears in a scene from the film, "Nightcrawler." AP

In this image released by Open Road Films, Jake Gyllenhaal appears in a scene from the film, "Nightcrawler." AP

OPENING THIS WEEK

Before I Go To Sleep

R, some brutal violence, language; 92 minutes. A woman apparently injured in an accident wakes up after 20 years and tries to make sense of her life and the people around her who try steering her in different directions. Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong.

* * * 1/2 Three of the best actors in the business put on a master class in mystery thriller in “Before I Go to Sleep,” a lean, twisty-turning tale in the “Memento” style. — MCCLATCHY

Digital Access for only $0.99

PG-13, brief strong language; 94 minutes.; An older man is convinced by his new but even older girlfriend to travel to Rome and visit the Fontana de Trevi fountain featured in “La Dolce Vita.” Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 7:30 (Tue)

Evolution of a Criminal

Not rated; 60 minutes. Filmmaker Darius Clark Monroe return to the small town in Texas where he grew up and where he robbed a bank, talking to friends, family and mentors to depict the pressures he felt as a struggling young man.

R, violence including graphic images, language; 117 minutes. A socially awkward sociopath decides to become a freelance videographer, capturing film of accidents, crime scenes and more and selling them to eager local television stations. Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Rick Garcia.

* * * “Nightcrawler” is an utterly fascinating plunge into the ethical cesspool of freelance video journalism in the TMZ age. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: RPX: 1, 4:10, 7, 9:50

Let the Right One In

R, bloody violence, brief nudity, language; 115 minutes. A young boy bullied by neighborhood kids finds his life changed when he befriends a mysterious young girl around the same time that a series of horrifying murders take place in the town. Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson.

No critical review available.

Playing: Limelight

Times: 9:30 (Fri)

Pride

R, language, brief sexual content; 120 minutes. A group of gay activists decide to support union members when their jobs are under attack during the Thatcher administration in the 1980s in Great Britain. Ben Schnetzer, Imelda Staunton, George MacKay.

* * * The joy of “Pride” is that it delivers so many easy laughs — little old ladies discovering leather bars, sexual appliances and the like — that when it hits you with a lump in the throat moment ... it’s unexpected.— MCCLATCHY

R, strong and bloody violence throughout, language. 103 minutes. Two men awake in a serial killer’s lair and have to complete a series of objectives if they are to survive. Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover.

No critical review available.

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 11:55 a.m., 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:10

Song of the New Earth

Not rated; 87 minutes. Documentary follows sound healer, psychotherapist and mystic Tom Kenyon as he travels around the world, visiting places of magical and overwhelming aural grace and importance.

Not rated; 97 minutes. Drama and reality combine during a 24-hour look into the life of musician and cultural icon Nick Cave.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 6:40 (Sat)

Advanced Style

Not rated; 72 minutes. Director Lina Plioplyte and photographer Ari Smith Cohen take a look at the style and personal lives of New York City’s most fashionable seniors.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 2:15 (Sun)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

PG, rude humor, some reckless behavior, language; 81 minutes. Alexander and his siblings and parents wind their way through a truly terrible day while trying to keep their spirits up. Ed Oxenbould, Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner.

R, intense sequences of disturbing violence, terror; 98 minutes. A young couple in the 1960s expecting their first child is terrorized after one of the wife’s antique dolls is haunted by a woman who was part of a slaughter at a neighboring home. Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton.

* * Like “Insidious” and “The Conjuring,” the only goal here is to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. And “Annabelle” does, more than once, before that dolly is done. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 10:20

Awake: The Life of Yogananda

Not rated; 87 minutes. Documentary looks at the life of Hindu Swami Paramahansa Yogananda and his efforts to bring yoga and meditation to the United States in the 1920s.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 4:15 (Sun)

Best of Me

PG-13, sexuality, violence, some drug content, brief strong language; 113 minutes. Two high school sweethearts come together again 21 years later and try to rekindle the love they once had. Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Luke Bracey, Lianan Liberato.

* 1/2 “The Best of Me” is just (Nicholas) Sparks’ greatest hits, starting with “The Notebook,” a touch of “Dear John” and running through every “not good enough for my daughter,” every tragic death, broken memory or noble sacrifice. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 11 a.m (Sat), 12:15 (Fri, Sun), 3:05, 6

Bleedingham Film Fest

Not rated; 120 minutes. Short horror films created by Washington filmmakers are shown, with prizes awarded to the best several categories.

* * * 1/2 “The Book of Life” is a Mexican-accented kids’ cartoon so colorful and unconventionally dazzling it almost reinvents the art form. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 11:10 a.m. (Sat), 3, 5:30, 8,

3D: 12:40, 8:45

Dracula Untold

PG-13, intense sequences of warfare, vampire attacks, disturbing image, some sensuality; 92 minutes. Dracula returns from serving in the Turkish army and decides to fight back when the Turks demand his son and other children from Dracula’s kingdom. Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance.

Not rated; 90 minutes. Danish expedition to the last uncharted areas of the globe is documented is this film.

No critical review available.

Playing: Limelight

Times: 5:30 (Sun), 6:30 (Sat, Mon-Thu), 7:15 (Fri)

Fury

R, strong sequences of war violence, some grisly images, language throughout; 134 minutes. A sergeant works to keep the men running his tank alive during the final days of World War II. Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena.

* * * “Fury” is more like Sam Fuller’s personal war memoir, “The Big Red One,” straightforward, less poetic, an action film with a hint of humanity and history that is fast receding from view. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 11:45 a.m., 2:50, 6:20, 10:05

Gone Girl

R, scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content, nudity, language; 149 minutes. After a man’s wife disappears, he becomes the center of a huge media frenzy and suspicions that he is involved in her disappearance. Ben Affleck, Rosamond Pike, Neil Patrick Harris.

* * * It’s good, but we’ve come to expect more from the guy who gave us “Fight Club” and “The Social Network.” — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 12:10, 3:30, 6:50, 9:25

Guardians of the Galaxy

PG-13, intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some language; 121 minutes. An Amercian pilot finds himself to be the target of a manhunt after he claims an orb from the vengeful Ronan. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, John C. Reilly.

* * * They’re going to make more “Guardians,” which is both good news and bad news. Director/ co-writer James (“Super”) Gunn won’t have the novelty of introducing us to this universe and these weirdos again. And since that’s pretty much the whole joke here, how will he get a curtain call out of them? — MCCLATCHY

* * 1/2 As fodder for fiction, this is strictly C-movie material. But Reeves animates the action and the filmmakers surround hime with wonderful co-stars.— MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 1:20, 3:50, 6:40, 9:10

IMAX: 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:50, 7:30, 10

The Judge

R, language, including some sexual references; 141 minutes. A son who is a high-profile Chicago attorney returns to his hometown after his elderly father, a former judge, is acccused of killing someone with his car. Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thorton, Vera Farmiga.

* 1/2 A bloated all-star melodrama with none of the lean, mean legalese of a Joh Grisham adaptation, It’s a showboat’s movie cast with a lot of actors each promised “a big, cool scene.” — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 12:30, 3:40, 6:10, 9:15

Last Days in Viet Nam

Not rated; 98 minutes. As the Viet Cong approach Saigon in the last days of the Vietnam War, American personnel have to decide whether to only evacuate U.S. citizens or risk treason and save the lives of as many South Vietnamese as they can.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 4:15 (Sat)

The Maze Runner

PG-13, thematic elements, intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action; 108 minutes. A group of teens are brought to an isolated and vast maze, where they must dodge the “Grievers,” super-sized spiders, and elude the maze itself before it closes and crushes them. Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ami Ameen.

* 1/2 This month’s “young adults save the future” film franchise is “The Maze Runner,” an indifferent quest tale about boys trapped in a gigantic maze with no idea how they got there. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 1:40, 4:20, 7:15, 9:55

My Last Year with the Nuns

Not rated; 75 minutes. Film looks at the lives of young men in heavily Catholic neighborhoods in Seatle in the 1960s and how they and the black kids living across the “red” line were able to come together for a few minutes each day before returning to their segregated lives.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 2:15 (Sat)

My Old Lady

PG-13, thematic material, some sexual references; 104 minutes. A down-on-his luck man comes to Paris to sell the apartment building owned by his deceased father and discovers an elderly woman living in one of the apartments who is unwilling to move. Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas.

* * 1/2 Smith and Kline and Scott Thomas give this a chance to sparkle. Kline dresses down wonderfully and his offhand way with the “Franglais” dialogue beautifully clashes with Smith’s English precision. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Limelight

Times: 12:30 (Sun), 1:30 (Sat), 2:15 (Fri), 4 (Mon-Thu)

Ouija

PG-13, violent content, horror; 89 minutes. A group of teens awakens an ancient spirit while using a Ouija board. Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto.

No critical view available.

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 12:50, 3:10, 5:40, 7:50, 10:15

Return of the River

Not rated; 69 minutes. Film documents the largest dam removal project in the history of the country on the Elwha River and efforts to restore the river’s eco-system.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 6:30 (Wed)

St. Vincent

PG-13, mature thematic material including sexual content, alcohol and tobaco use; 103 minutes. A cranky old man agrees to watch his new neighbor’s young son while she works and discovers the boy is in need of help and direction and purpose.

* * * This is Murray’s vehicle, and even if he never quite sticks with an accent or convinces us of an infirmity, he is captivating, first scene to last. — MCCLATCHY

Playing: Barkley Village

Times: 1:30, 4, 6:30, 9:05

The Skeleton Twins

R, language, some sexuality, drug use; 93 minutes. A troubled young man returns to his hometown after failing to become an actor and finds himself at odds with his twin sister, who has little desire to see him return home. Kristen Wigg, Bill Hader, Ty Burrell, Luke Wilson.

* * 1/2 The timing of this tale of depression, suicide and how vulnerable we all are to our past, our demons and our shortcomings, is enough to recommend this engagingly melancholy comedy. — MCCLATCHY

Not rated; 95 minutes. Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians gather to record an album celebrating the music of Memphis in its heyday.

No critical review available.

Playing: Pickford

Times: 6:30 (Fri)

Tracks

R, profanity, nudity, adult themes; 112 minutes. A young woman makes a trip across the Australian outback with her dog and 4 camels, following the same tracks as her father when he decided to make the journey and disappeared. Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Lily Pearl, Roly Mintuma.

* * * Attention should be paid to “Tracks,” a soul-strirring film set in that otherwordly place called Australia. — PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER